Using free online courses to support entry into

Transcript:Using free online courses to support entry into:
Using free online courses to support entry into Higher Education: “Open to all” LM Christie Postgraduate Education Group, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition The Rise of the MOOC Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have surged in popularity over the last decade as an alternative to the existing distance learning format. With the increased availability of internet access they offer learning to a global audience, free of charge, without having to even leave your house. Threat or Opportunity? With MOOC popularity rising the potential threat to existing higher education (HE) institutions was popularised via the following themes “It will devalue Higher Education” “It’s just a cost-cutting measure” “It will reduce the need for as many universities and staff” So far, MOOCs have not displaced standard university teaching as we know it. Some even suggest the MOOC bubble has already burst. However, many institutions are looking at the MOOC format as an opportunity “I can reach a global audience with my course” “I can reach 1000s of students at once” “It removes some of the existing barriers to education” The Open University, FutureLearn and Us The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK. The MOOC threat was perhaps greatest to the OU by nature of its distance learning format. In 2013 the OU launched their own digital learning platform to offer MOOCs, FutureLearn (FL). The University of Aberdeen is now one of FutureLearn’s academic partners, giving us access to a globally recognised, and accessed, online learning platform. Students access free materials but can pay to upgrade and receive a Certificate of Achievement on completion of a short assessment. “FutureLearn’s purpose is to transform access to education” FutureLearn, 2019 How did the Institute of Applied Health Sciences use MOOCs to increase access to Postgraduate Education? Accessing HE requires time, money, a suitable geographic location and prior success at learning Free online introductory courses can help overcome some of these barriers Students have the opportunity to Study at a time and pace to suit them Save / earn money at the same time Study from anywhere in the world Study subjects not previously offered to them Build confidence in learning outside school Gain knowledge they previously didn’t have Our “problem” Many students who are considering studying nutrition at postgraduate level lack the necessary biochemistry knowledge to meet our entry requirements They often have